mmm-yoso – Page 365 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

Retasting Bud’s Louisiana Cafe – Six and a half years and three locations later

December 17, 2012 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Seafood

Man, here's another one that really dates us……. I first posted on Bud's, when it was Bud's Louisiana Food Shoppe on Kettner back in August of 2006. We then visited a couple of itmes after they moved to Tierrasanta in August of 2008. We thought the food had slipped a bit and before we knew it, Bud's was gone…….

Only to find out that Bud's Cafe had reopened on a small side street of Balboa Avenue in an area that looked like a business park.

After the move to Tierrasanta, the hours had gotten a bit different, and here it was Monday and Tuesday, breakfast and lunch, 7am to 3pm. Wednesday thru Friday 7am to 9pm, and Saturday 12 noon to 9pm. Since I'm fairly close to the location, I decided on grabbing some lunch to see how things were at Bud's.

It's the same paintings and furniture, but for some reason, I liked it in this setting more. There's also a nice outdoor area, for those non-rainy, winter months. The menu looked pretty much the same and I've always enjoyed the option of a cup of gumbo or bisque to pair with a sandwich. So I went with something I hadn't had in a while, a cup of Jambalaya ($4).

This was better than I recalled; a nice tang, decent seasoning…..the food at Bud's has never struck me as spicy, so I didn't expect that. It was a decent bowl, even overcoming my dislike for converted rice.

I paired that with the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Po' Boy ($9).

Bud'sRev 04

The sandwich came with some "by the book" Cajun seasoned fries. The bread was crusty and the shrimp was just plain perfectly sauteed. I had forgotten that Bud's tends to drench stuff with tartar sauce……the BBQ sauce wasn't particularly spicy and this isn't a "super stuffed" sandwich, but I wasn't expecting that. Not bad…..

My server was excellent, friendly, but not too buddy-buddy, efficient and professional. I thought the service was actually a notch above the food…..

I returned a couple of days later and ordered a Spicy Andouille Po Boy ($10).

The bread was again crusty, whole grain mustard went well with the sausage, which I was told was Comeaux's Andouille, a pretty well known brand out of Lafayette. The spices were nice, with a bit more ooomph then I expected. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the very tough casing of the sausage, which was really hard to bite through with pulling the whole darn thing out on your lap. Nitpicky perhaps, but overall a decent meal…..

I had mentioned having lunch at Bud's to the Missus. She was curious to see if the food had changed over the years……and I noticed that Bud's has a Happy Hour from Wednesdays through Fridays, from 3pm to 6pm. 15% off appetizers…..I thought some appetizers would be enough for a meal for me and since they also had the lunch/dinner menu, She went for the Crawfish Etouffe ($15).

This seemed a tad lighter (in a good way) then what we'd experienced at Bud's before, it was not as rich, but the great flavors of the shellfish base came through nicely. It was also devoid of the gummy textured, floury taste that sometimes came along with this pretty looking plate. The Missus thought the crawfish taste came through better as well.

I almost forgot about the Caesar Salad that came with the etouffe…….it was actually decent in size. But take a close look and you'll find that the romain lettuce is dripping wet. It hadn't been dried well after rinsing……watering things down.

The cup of Red Beans and Rice was a total fail for us. Other then the nice tasting Andouille, I really thought it second rate. First, there was a total lack of flavor in this….no beans, no spice, no smokiness. It was more watery then creamy, and the beans were tough….. I mean c'mon, this is something I make at home all the time. I know it can be done better…..

I was fascinated by the Creole Caviar, so of course I ordered it.

I loved the flavor of the "pate", a blend of shellfish base with shrimp, crawfish, the Cajun trinity….it was rich in a good way. The Missus didn't care for it at first, mostly because the "toasts" were a bit too buttery, taking the richness over the top for us, and making the dish a bit too salty. This would have been great with just plain bread ot toasts. It didn't seem like much, but sure filled us up. We'll have this again….though maybe order a baquette instead of the toasts.

Thinking that I hadn't had a fried item here, I ordered the Soft Shell Crab Appetizer, a simple floured and deep fried soft shell crab. First, I thought the tartar sauce in this case really helped the soft shell crab….the capers in the sauce did wonders, mainly because the flavor was pretty mild. We also didn't enjoy how this was fried….preferring light and crisp, over gummy and chewy. Sad, I'd always thought they did a good job of frying here….perhaps this is an aberration.

Dinner did seem a bit of a mixed bag, but we left in a positive state of mind. Service had been nice and professional, and though I've heard folks complain about the price to quantity ratio……I'd point to our $30 tab for two burgers we recently ordered at the bar, which was more expensive then this meal!

We'll probably be back in the near future….I still need to see if their gumbo and seafood bisque is still any good.

Bud's Louisiana Cafe
4320 Viewridge Ave
San Diego, CA 92123

Kailua-Kona: Costco, Da Poke Shack, and KTA Keauhou – The Big Island

December 16, 2012 mmm-yoso Hawai'i - The Big Island, Poke

Even though we'd eaten and done the coffee tour thing, it was still pretty early. So I decided to head over to what I'd recommend for a quick first stop in Kona….it's close to the airport, you can stock up on water if you're staying for more than 3-4 days….Costco….yep, Costco. My friends know how much I dread going to Costco, the crowds, the insanity….but here I was going of my own accord. This being the Big Island, meant that Costco might have some interesting items…..

Like poke……

Rambutan seems to be much more popular than I recall……though I hadn't been to the Big Island in almost a decade. They even sell it at Costco.

It was great to see local products being sold at Costco. You can even get local poi!

Or even Hamakua Mushrooms……

And what other Costco has its own Guard-Rooster??? Pretty aggressive little fella'. Make sure you don't take his "reserved space"!

We then headed off back to Kona and was able to check in at the King Kamehameha….which was a good choice for us. Nothing fancy but the location, at the top of Ali'i Drive worked for us. The interior of the hotel is much nicer than the exterior which looked a bit dated. The staff was also very nice, especially the parking lot ladies who always smiled and waved us and in and out.

That taken care of…..means it was time for lunch, right? We headed up Palani Drive to Kuakini Highway, then back down to Ali'i Drive and a small shop called Da' Poke Shack.

The little shop with a couple of parking spots and tables outside has about a dozen varieties of poke…which you can get a la carte as a bowl or as a plate (with two sides)…..though the plate seemed a bit steep at $20, we decided that it was something we could share as a rather light lunch.

I ordered the "Shack Special" which was a mildly sweet furikake poke and the "Wet Hawaiian" which was some kind of award winning version of poke….brown rice with kimchi and seaweed salad as our sides.

The portion sizes of the fish seemed to hover around 4-5 ounces. They told me, this was ahi……it seemed like tombo ahi – albacore, or even A'u as the fish seemed a bit mushy. Regardless, it was fresh, the flavors not too bad, maybe a bit on the salty side.

We shared our table with this momona (chubby) dove, who has obviously been eating well.

Not the best poke I've had, kind of pricey, but probably the best in the area.

Da Poke Shack
76-6246 Alii Dr
Kailua, HI 96740

Open Daily: 10am – 6pm

We then attended to the next task at hand…..trying to figure out what was for dinner! Since the room had a decent mini-fridge, we decided to check out KTA in Keauhou, which we recalled as being pretty decent. We did make a couple of purchases and headed back to our room with a self-catered meal on hand.

After freshening up, we took a nice stroll up Ali'i Drive a bit….which basically looked the same, except for the lack of tourists. We watched the sunset from the back of the Kona Inn…….which never, ever, gets old.

We then walked up a bit further, cut over to Kuakini Highway and made our way back to our room……..and dinner, which was pretty simple. The Missus loves boiled peanuts.

And smoked ahi…….

I really enjoyed the local grass fed pipikaula poke, which I thought was really tasty….didn't like the look of the poke on sale, and frankly, if you don't have a fish counter, I ain't going to buy it.

The pipikaula had a nice chew and the flavor was nice and beefy; this wasn't too salty and was really enjoyable. Totally dinner on the hotel lanai food….and just like old times…….

We enjoyed the pupus with some Mehana Beer, which even the Missus enjoyed. We had decided to boycott Kona Brewing Company. The brewery and restaurant were mere yards from our hotel. However, when we walked over just to find out about the tours, the Hostess/Server was really very rude and condescending……so was another Server I asked. So no more Kona Brewing Company for us……

We got to sleep early….we'd be heading out to Hilo side in the morning.

Recently Consumed

December 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Here's some of the stuff that we've had recently.

I had made three different types of wings for the pig-fest. One of the sauces was sort of a Indonesian inspired sauce that I threw together during a break. It used Kecap Manis, Sambal Olek (an Indonesian brand), lime juice, and honey. Since the only chance I really have of getting to Catalina Offshore is during Saturdays……I try to make the best of things. Here's a pan fried grouper which I cooked in a combo coconut-grapeseed oil.

The sauce went really well with the fish.

The Missus liked it so much that She ended up using it as a dressing.

She placed the fish on top of a shaved chard, kale, brussel sprout salad. The dressing did quite well with the rather bitter salad….even I liked it. So maybe we've found a use for this "wing sauce", which actually wasn't too bad on wings either……

Not everything I end up making is particularly good:

I couple months back, I finally ordered David Chang's Momofuku cookbook. An aquaintance of mine had gone on and on about the "ginger scallion sauce" and the ginger scallion noodles. So I went ahead and made it….exactly like the recipe was written and man, it was pretty bland….so I made adjustments, more scallions, more salt…….man, it was still fairly mild.

The sauce on the right is my ginger scallion pesto, which I made to compare…and I preferred more. It had more body, the garlic helped the sauce as well….I think hot peanut oil also brought out more flavor. So I dunno……if you look at the photo in the book, the sauce on David Chang's noodles is much darker.

Sometime's recipes from even a trusted source doesn't quite come out. I love Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook Volume 1. Just about everything I've made from the "Julia Child of Chinese Cooking" has turned out….except for the Sauteed Lamb with Scallions.

I'm thinking it was the additional of vinegar that killed this…… I'll make adjustments and try again.

Luckily, I used only half the lamb and the next night I went back to my stand by; zi ran yang rou.

Cumin Lamb, one of my favorites…….

Shakshuka

December 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This is more of the Tunisian style shakshuka, then the potatoand eggplant Turkish version….we love both. But we were a bit disappointed in the versions we had in Tunisia……so much of it looked like scrambled eggs. So when the Missus, a big fan of Yotam Ottolenghi's vegetarian cookbook, Plenty, gave me the green light to get his latest, Jerusalem, I went ahead and ordered it. And wouldn't you know, the first page the Missus opens to is the recipe for Shakshuka! From previous experience with Ottolenghi's recipes, I was certain, with adjustments to our taste, (remember, a recipe for cooking is just an outline) that things would turn out okay at the least.

This recipe uses no onions, but still has a good amount of pungency from the harissa we used. It's a brand we bought from a woman who seels French good at the various Farmer's Markets. You'll have to adjust the amounts based on that. I also bumped up the garlic slightly. You can also check out Cathy's recipe here. The dish she makes is quite similar. The version in the book also uses 4 whole eggs plus 4 yolks….sounded a bit much for us. So we just stuck to three large eggs.

Shakshuka

2-3 Tb Olive Oil
2-4 Tb Harissa (depending on brand)
2-3 Tb Tomato Paste (we used more since we used fresh tomatoes which weren't super ripe)
2 large red bell peppers cut into 1/4" dice
5-6 ripe roma tomatoes diced
4-6 cloves garlic finely minced
2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 large eggs – I crack them in bowls and leave them on the side
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

– Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan. We used our trusty cast iron pan.
– Add the cumin to "bloom" (not burn), then quickly add harissa, tomato paste, and garlic.
– When fragrant add the red bell peppers and some salt. Stir occasionally for about 8-10 minutes until softened.
– Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
– Taste and adjust seasoning.
– Make divots in the thick sauce and pour eggs into the divots. I stir the whites of the eggs lightly to enhance the cooking time.
– Lower the heat and simmer for 8-12 minutes, or more to let the eggs set-up to taste. If you enjoy your eggs a bit more well done, you can cover them for a few minutes.

The Missus loves the silken texture of the whites…She expected rubbery, but the couple times we've made this, the eggs have always been wonderful.

Here's the requisite drippy egg shot.

One evening, the Missus bought some merguez. I ended up making the shashuka in the sausage drippings……

Really good stuff!

Revisits in photos: Golden City, Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista), Izakaya Sakura, 777 Noodlehouse, Sieu Sieu BBQ, and Pho Lucky

December 12, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Been in a bit of a rut recently and have just been hitting the same old places. I mentioned this to an acquaintance of mine who asked me what I’ve been eating recently. I told him, “not much, the same old boring stuff”. He then asked me what and where and I ticked off most of these places. He looked at me and said, “your routine is nothing like my routine, nor is it like anyone else I know.” Maybe, but it’s been pretty boring for me lately….though I can’t say eating has been terrible.

Golden City:

**** Golden City has closed

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Pho Hiep & Grill:

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Sakura:

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

777 Noodle House:

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Sieu Sieu BBQ:

A quick comment….never been a favorite, but I must have ht the jackpot with the roast pork on this trip because it was moist, the skin thin and crunchy. The char siu was the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, mediocre-ness.

Also of note….when did they start wiping their tables down with bleach!!! The place has only been open four years and is starting to look run down.

Yikes…..

Sieu Sieu BBQ
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Lucky:

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Hope you’re having a great week!

The Big Island: Teshima’s Restaurant and Greenwell Farms – Kealakekua

December 11, 2012 mmm-yoso Hawai'i - The Big Island, Japanese Restaurants, Travel

Much like FOY (Friend of Yoso) Kyle, for some reason I have a problem calling the Big Island, "Hawai'i Island". Don't quite know why…..I just do. So it'll just have to be the "Big Island of Hawai'i" I guess.

Our flight took us just under an hour and we got to our rental car in minutes. It was early, but we were a bit hungry (so what else is new). We hadn't been to the Big Island in quite a few years. We stopped at KTA in Kona, but man, the place looked really dreary. There was a time where we could almost live out of KTA, the hot food, the poke, you name it. For some things, it looked like times had changed. And of course, the prices had gone up quite a bit. Hard to believe I bought the exact same sized bottle of Sriracha at Thuan Phat for $1.79 just 72 hours ago! Yikes, $5.69, and that's on sale!

Kona looked a bit depressed and the Missus wasn't a big fan of a good portion of super touristy Ali'i Drive…heck, She was acting almost like a local! We decided to head to Kealakekua, less then 10 miles out of Kona, where the "highway" was just a single lane going each way. Kealakekua actually looks a bit busy……the Missus made sure to stop in almost every "health food" store She saw, just to check it out.

I've always been charmed by the town of Kealakekua, population somewhere around 1,700. The population belies how busy Mamalahoa "Highway" always seems to be. Kealakekua and Captain Cook still have some of that old "plantation/farm town" feel.

You'd miss our stop for a late breakfast if you blinked. On the side of the road is the simple sign for Teshima Restaurant.

There are two parts to the restaurant….well possibly more if you consider the knick-knacks and snacks they sell. The main dining room is located on one side and a bar with even more seating on the other.

It felt like I was going back in time and eating at one of those "old time" places of my youth.

Growing up, places like this were for special occasions. Nothing fancy, but solid, respectable food. My mom's favorite place for her birthday was the now almost decade closed Wisteria Restaurant. As I got older, a better job, with better money, places like Wisteria became a several time a week place. I thought it would be great for the Missus to eat in these old school shops. Reid, of Ono Kine Grindz states that Teshima's opened as general store in 1929 and kept expanding, becoming a restaurant in 1940……old school enough for you?

We were a bit early for the lunch menu, so the Missus ordered the "special".

Two onigiri with a local kine tamago(egg omelet), Spam, teri beef, and a lightly fried fish. For some reason the Missus really liked the miso soup, which was pretty plain and straight-forward. She also loved the tsukemono and sunomono. I got the Spam and the teri beef which was on the sweeter and tough side. The Missus had Her doubts about the fried fish, which I told Her was going to be decent….it wasn't oily, nor fishy at all. She enjoyed it the most.

She enjoyed the fish so much that She poached mine from the "Japanese breakfast" I ordered.

This came with tsukemono and sunomono, I ordered my egg easy over….miso soup, which I gave to the Missus in exchange for the Spam, some fishcake which had been browned, and the fish which looked pretty plain but was quite nice.

Of course the egg went on my rice……

I can't resist the drippy egg photo I guess……..

The food isn't fancy, nor particularly amazing, but is honest "old school local Japanese" fare, and has probably been served the same way for the majority of the last 70 years. We've done the Waikoloa Resort thing in the past, we decided to go fairly "old school" on this trip and this, now fourth generation restaurant was a great way to start. One amazing story is that Shizuko Teshima, "Grandma" is still around! She's 105 years old and I heard she still comes by! Man, if these walls could talk!

Teshima Restaurant
79-7251 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kealakekua, HI 96750

One of the things we'd never done while in Kona was to check out a Coffee Farm. Since we were in Kealakekua, where most of the Kona coffee is grown, we thought we'd check out Greenwell Farms and I'm glad we did. There's a tasting stand, where we tried some of the best coffee from an airpot I'd ever had. Established by Henry Greenwell from England and his wife Elizabeth in the 1870's, we found out that Greenwell Farm processes 80% of the Kona coffee in the world. The reason you don't hear about them is two-fold. First, they only roast a small amount of coffee for mail order and sale on the premises. Second, they dry the rest of the coffee to the "green bean" stage and it's shipped out for final roasting…….some of the names thrown out to us, Peet's, Caribou, Starbucks……

We found all of this out on the short 20 minute tour which took us to the weigh and processing station.

Where we first got to see and taste "cherry", the red, ripe coffee bean, then take a look at the "green bean", the dried coffee.

The coffee is laid out to dry……at this point it can't get wet. We were told that a Japanese engineer designed the solution to protecting the drying beans from the rain. It's amazingly simple. You can see it in this photo. The simply have a roof on a slide that you can move to protect the beans.

As we returned to the stand and our car, we were shown this patch of rather scraggly looking coffee plants, which looked like had been pruned many times.

These were some of the original coffee plants brought here from Guatemala.

We learned so much during this short tour….the consistent 4pm rains, the volcanic soil, the perfect rainfall and sunlight, basically, the much over-used Terroir is what makes Kona Coffee what it is.

Greenwell Farms
81-6581 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kealakekua, HI 96750

Stand open daily from 0800 – 1700

Oh, and one more thing I found out. Much like if a local "Bruddah" in the area asks you "eh, you like smoke" he ain't talking about cigarettes. When you see signs in the area that say "Buying Cherries", they're not referring to Bing or Rainier's….. it's coffee they are after. They call the fruit cherries…… We'd been wondering about that as we drove up Mamalahoa Highway. We had a great time and the Missus is still enjoying the coffee we bought here every morning…..

What we did this past weekend – Porcine Party

December 10, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

In case you were wondering why the blog was so quiet on Friday and Saturday…..first I was kinda fried, then there was the pig. As noted in other posts on this blog, I've got a great group of friends who are pretty much up for anything. We'd been joking about trying to do a whole hog for a while. Finally, a couple of months ago, FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice got involved and things atartedrolling. First, the twin's mom allowed us to use her back yard, second Candice put the twins in contact with a pig farmer who slaughtered said piggy…..meanwhile, I provided a marinade recipe…..I was out of town until just before the said swine was toast.

So on Saturday morning at 5am, there we were………

There were a bunch of glitches…..but that's what makes things interesting. First the pig had been butterflied instead of prepped for the rotisserie…..so that meant extra sewing. Candice gave the hog a rubdown, while the guys got the pig on the rotisserie.

I got the hardwood charcoal started….a lot of charcoal. 30 pounds to start with refueling as necessary. All told about 120-130 pounds of charcoal.

We were delayed when we figured out that the darn rotisserie just wouldn't cut it….the kept skipping, it just wouldn't work….so after trying a whole bunch of things we just pretty much did it by hand. The sun had risen by the time things got started…….things looked grim.

We ended up doing 1/8 to 1/4 turns manually….it wasn't easy, the pig was over 80 pounds, then propping it up with one of several garden implements.

Things were going swimmingly until our next bump in the road. John thought we needed to lowerthe hog. Well, the heat had caused the metal stands to swell making movement pretty tough…it was also hot as heck and John didn't do too well with it. So we got a step stool thingy, I climbed up placing one leg on the edge of the pan and basically did a modified deadlift while Candice and John pounded the stand with a hammer to loosen it. First side wasn't too bad…the second side we'll be talking about for a long time. I was up on the edge of the pan….John and Candice were trying their darnest to get the thing loose while I held the hog up. I actually watched the hair on my leg (I wore shorts) burn off, but there wasn't anything I could do. Then my shirt caught on fire……so what to do? Third degree burns or drop the hog into the charcoal??? Luckily, just as I was thinking about skin grafts, they got everything adjusted correctly….and I had brought along a spare shirt. Don't ask me why, for some reason I just did. Of course all the vibrations had loosen one of the retaining rods and the pig almost fell face forward…back to the pig lift while the rod was pounded back into place. This was when I popped open my first Beer Lao of the day….

It was already 10am….time had really flown by. Guests had been told to come at 3pm by Peter. The pig had started developing a nice tan….and John was getting into the habit of peeling the skin off the pig and eating it! Sheesh….. Of course the middle of the pig started getting too brown, so the twin's mom suggesting wrapping those parts in aluminum foil.

The pig was doing nicely…Candice was doing a great job of first basting with coconut oil, then coconut water. At right before 11 Peter returned and Candice and I left….we had to prep some of the other dishes.

The Missus dropped me back off at just before 2 pm and this is what the pig looked like.

By this time reinforcements had already arrived…..Ange had worked getting the tables and everything else set-up, TFD and MrC, YY and MrQ (and "Kyle"), Xianjiang…the whole gang. Everyone took their photo with the pig….then it was covered back up.

It was starting to get darker and the internal temp of the hog was still just over110, we weren't going to make it.

Luckily there was back-up. YY and MrQ brought a bunch of food from Mien Trung…Banh Bot Loc and Hen Xuc Banh Trang.

I set about to fry up about 15 pounds of chicken wings….I loved this set-up.

YY told me that the twin's mom knew that we'd need a "plan B" from the beginning and requested the legs. I've previously mentioned what a great cook she is. So I'll let the photos do the talking.

It was some great stuff. Xianjiang appeared with Fanny Bay oysters…….

It became clear the the pig wouldn't make it. So they did what they could…..and left to cook it further.

I had two slots for guests, so I invited Kirbie and DH. I feel bad that I was so busy behind the fryer that I couldn't spend time with them….my apologies!

Of course, eventually the karaoke started up……and etc……. It was an epic night, something we'll always talk about. Thanks to John and Peter for taking ownership and Candice for keeping things on schedule, YY and MrQ for making sure we had some contingencies, Ange for making sure the area got set-up and decorated, TFD and MrC for always being there for support and help…..and especially the twin's sister Van and their wonderful Mother (thanks for sneaking me all those special dishes!). It was great meeting those folks I knew and those that I met for the first time.

In the end, it wasn't about the destination, but the journey. In the end (no pun intended) we have a heck of a tail,ummm tale, don't we!

Thanks again guys……this was quite an effort……I have heard Ange's request for a goat….but we'll have to get a rotisserie that actually works. And I need some time to recover.

Honolulu: Whole Foods Kahala, Ono Seafood, Tamura’s Kaimuki, Take’s Fish Market, Mini-Garden, and dinner

December 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Honolulu, Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Oahu, Plate Lunch, Poke

I won't go into great detail about planning or trip; you can read a bit more in my previous post.

During my last trip, I noticed a lot of construction was taking place on a huge lot on Keaunui Drive. My in-laws live about a ten minute walk away. On this trip we saw that one of the "mega-Safeways" had opened on the property. I thought this was great, with more choices, and maybe with a better fish department than the nearby Foodland. Unfortunately, like Foodland, this place serves up carbon monoxide treated ahi….bummer. I guess we'll stick with Tanioka's. We were pretty much pooped and didn't do much the first evening.

But we headed out early the next morning. In all honesty, I'm not the biggest fan of Whole Foods. I did however, relish the opportunity to check out the Kahala location. I wanted the Missus to have a chance to grab some local produce. I was pleasantly surprised to see a really impressive looking food bar area……

This used to be the location of Star Market in Kahala Mall, which sadly closed in 2007.

It didn't seem like we'd have any time to visit a farmer's market on Oahu, so this seemed a decent option. Of course, driving from Ewa Beach on a week day morning wasn't exactly the most wonderful thing in the world….

This was of course, Whole Foods, and the pricing reflected that. I'm not a big fan of the prepared and hot foods, many of which I find on the bland side. But the choice of all the local vegetables was very nice. The Missus and I had sort of a breakfast with stuff like Sumida Farms watercress and Ho Farms Tomatoes.

The Missus just loved the watercress and we bought some stuff for dinner.

Whole Foods Market
Kahala Mall Shopping Center
4211 Waialae Ave, Ste 2000
Honolulu, HI 96816

Our next stop was set to be Tamura's Kaimuki, but their poke department doesn't open until 1030, so we decided to get something to eat. Well, we already did breakfast, so I guess we need to call this brunch?

We headed down to Ono Seafood and decided to share a poke bowl. We went with a "combo" poke bowl; for 50 cents more ($7.50), you get two different poke. The one item that I enjoy eating brown rice with is poke….the Missus loves the "brown rice revolution".

The fish here has been sparkling fresh on all our visits. The poke is not over-sauced and the texture of the fish is not compromised. The Missus really enjoyed the wasabi version of the ahi poke, while I liked the less heavily flavored "Hawaiian" style, with inamona adding a bit of nuttiness, and limu for some crunch. All the juice from the poke flavored the rice nicely, though the Missus has a bit of an issue with putting cold raw fish on top of hot rice…… I on the other hand have no such qualms……

Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave.Apt 4
Honolulu, HI 96816

We then headed back up the hill to Tamura's.

For some smoked tako, smoked fish, and some other stuff for dinner.

Tamura's Fine Wines & Liquors
3496 Waialae Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816

We decided to make one more eating stop….. We've done breakfast and brunch, so I guess this one is officially lunch? Anyway we headed to Mapunapuna and the former location of 99 Ranch Market. I'd always thought this was a weird location for a market and 99 Ranch Market didn't last that long. It's now a sort of food court with some shops….great for the working folks in the area. Though it still looks kind of seedy…..

**** Both Take's and Mini Garden Express have closed

I'd heard about a little place that makes a nice take-out chirashi with decent quality fish, called Take's Fish Market.

The place is run by a very nice older Japanese couple. They seem very mild mannered, even shy. I ordered the Kaisen Chirashi and was told it was going to be about 10 minutes. So while the Missus walked around I waited a while and actually saw them cut my fish fresh.

I then went for a walk and got the Missus to order something for me from another stand (see below). When I got back, my bowl was ready.

The shari (sushi rice) was prepared decently, not too sour or wet. The fish was very fresh, the hamachi impeccable. By no means is this an earth-shattering chirashi……but looking at the quality and price ($9.95), this is pretty darn good. I really can't, by any means, call this fast food. If I worked around here, I'd be having this just about every week.

Take's Fish Market
1151 Mapunapuna St
Honolulu, HI 96819

While waiting for my chirashi, the Missus and I took a walk. It was just after 11 and this place was packed.

The place was doing major business! Looking at the food the other folks were eating, I could tell….this ain't Panda Express. So I got the missus to order me something while I went back to see if my chirashi was ready.

What the missus ordered for me was the Roast Duck Pan Fried Noodles ($7.95). The Missus handed the styrofoam container over to me and I was surprised at its heft. Opening up I noticed that man, this place really packed it in.

The Missus loved the gooey sauce on the vegetables….mostly napa cabbage. There was a good amount of crisp noodles, one of my favorite thing. I found the sauce more like a fairly bland gravy which needed some flavor. The duck was super meaty and wasn't too salty, though it was on the mild side with regards to anything resembling five-spice or bean paste flavor.

Still, this is a load of food……..we had half of it left for dinner.

Mini Garden Express
1151 Mapunapuna St
Honolulu, HI 96819

Speaking of dinner……..it seemed like the Missus could not get enough watercress. We bought some Sumida Farms watercress and Ho Farms tomatoes and made a salad….and drizzled on a bit of soy and sesame oil for flavor.

Along with the stuff from Tamura's.

The smoked tako seemed a bit too sweet for our tastes.

The smoked marlin, which the Missus loved so much that I had to bring some home with me during my last trip, has somehow fallen out of favor with Her.

Turns out that the Missus prefers the stuff I now make at home. Of course it's made with Her taste preferences in mind.

The pipikaula was decent….not too tough, not overly salty.

I could eat a whole container of pickled garlic…..really.

While the Missus could do the same with tako wasabi……

While writing this I realized that we really packed it in…….though if you look through, we shared our food and never ate too much. We really enjoyed this type of "grazing"……..

We crashed fairly early, we'd bee headed to the Big Island the next day.

Thanks for reading!

We’re Back

December 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Hawai'i - The Big Island, Honolulu, Loco Mocos, Oahu, Poke, Travel

In case you've been wondering…..the Missus and I took what seemed like a really short trip, it seemed to be over in the blink of an eye. We were getting a bit stale, so it was time for us to do something. I know I already went home once this year, but we decided to take that trip.

We ended up spending only a couple of days on Oahu and the rest on the Big Island. I've been there at least a dozen times and the Missus about 5 or 6. We had friends who lived in Hilo for a while. But hadn't been back in over ten years and were wondering if things had changed much.

Since we'd been there so many times, we've done all the sight seeing stuff, so we just kind of just wanted to drive around and enjoy….to the tune of 600 miles in four days! So even though we've been here many times before, you can be sure that we'll be at least showing a couple of great sunsets…..

Maybe throw in a waterfall…..

And being on the Big Island, you know we've got to visit here…..

Of course there will be lots of poke….which the Missus just can't get enough of…..

Or even this….a bargain at $9.95:

The Missus really appreciated the local produce on this trip and took full advantage.

Though that doesn't mean I cut this out of my diet…….

We also had a chance to visit a couple of real "old time" favorites on the Big Island, places that are etched into the locals minds. These places have been serving up the same fare for decades and have a place in the history of the Big Island.

From the very "Local-Japanese"……

To a pork chop that was probably cooked in a cast iron pan several decades older than I am…….

It was all good.

Even the Hamakua Mushroom Burger……..really!

We didn't have much time on Oahu, literally two nights total, but managed to enjoy ourselves……

So let me regroup and recover and we'll be back with a post!

Hopefully, before pigs fly……..

Thanks for reading!

Sausage & More European Delicatessen (Lakeside)

December 5, 2012 Cathy German Restaurants and Food, What Cathy Eats!

This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma)? Still busy. Cathy? Blogging today.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I were craving foods we grew up with. Not wanting to spend time and fuel driving to Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad, we decided to try the European Delicatessen in Lakeside that we had seen for the past few months.

In researching, we found out that the owners of Sausage & More had worked at Sausage King, which had been a chain of small markets around the County, the last one on Washington Street, which closed when the owner died in 2011.

Walking in the front door, you are greeted with a small grocery area. Under that archway in the back is one of three comfortable booth and table eating areas.

There is a good variety of European (mostly German) sweets and condiments as well as some bread selections from Los Angeles area bakeries.

The meat case offers a good variety of lunchmeats and sausages. Almost everything is $5.98/lb.

There is also one refrigerator case with desserts and one with cheeses.

Several ‘specials’ were on posters lining the walls and we decided to try the “Oktoberfest Bratwurst”, a smoked bratwurst, heated and on a soft white bun, served with mustard and an excellent German potato salad. ($4.75).

A corse ground, smoked sausage inside an excellent skin, with a great ‘snap’ upon biting into it.

I tried a simple smoked ham sandwich ($4.25) which was accidentally made on white instead of rye bread. The thin sliced smoked ham was plentiful, however I did order the sandwich with ‘everything’ and the lettuce, tomato and onion kind of took away from the basic good simplicity that the sandwich flavors should have.

On another visit, we just grabbed food to take home. The Ring bologna, skin on the weiners, Neopolitan cake slice ($3.75 on Friday and Saturday), cookies and licorice were all excellent selections to satisfy more cravings.

They don’t make the sausages or smoke the meat here, but are friendly, helpful and do have a really good selection in nearby East County.

Sausage & More Delicatessen 12241Woodside Avenue Lakeside, CA 92040 (619) 390-1514 Website Closed Sunday and Monday. Other days open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

<<<(A closeup of the lamp hanging in the archway, in the second photo. It’s very old- the plug only has two prongs; no ground. Very cool.)